Bridgestone Airless Tire Resembles Psychedelic Spirograph Sketch

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Bridgestone Airless Tire Resembles Psychedelic Spirograph Sketch

Goodbye pump: Bridgestone's airless tire concept cannot be punctured

Changing a tire at the side of the road is no big deal (you know that the tire-iron is for removing the wheel-nuts and not just for self defense, right?), but suffering a blowout on the freeway isn't any fun at all. Bridgestone's new airless tires fix both problems.

The concept design uses thermoplastic "spokes" which radiate tangentially out from the hub and curve before joining the rim. The ribs run in different directions on either side of the wheel so no rotation or twisting of the tread occurs. The outer rubber layer looks fairly standard, but the inner section can be recycled (and not just into trashy plant-pots like regular tires).

My guess would be that the sides of these tires would have to be covered lest the chambers between the ribs become filled with roadside detritus.

The design is on show at the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show which opened yesterday. For more airless tire madness, see Ron Arad's design for a "fixie" with flower-like sprung steel wheels.